


Time Is On My Side

by JazeRain



Category: Dreamcatcher (Korea Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-08-09 09:09:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16446941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JazeRain/pseuds/JazeRain
Summary: Namjoon is separated from his little sister when they are young and makes it his life's goal to find her, despite his father's repeated wishes to let it go. Namjoon becomes resentful of his father who is head of the Police Department, and turns to crime and ganglife to find his sister.He eventually becomes the 2nd hand of in the top gang in the country, headed by Jung Hoseok. Hoseok promises to help Namjoon find his sister. They end up locating her in the red light district of a rival gang, but before they can negotiate her release, they get intel that she's being smuggled out of the country. Now it's a race against time to save her before they lose her forever.





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction on this site. It'll be a chaptered fic, but hopefully less than 10 chapters, and yes it features both BTS and Dreamcatcher!! Pairings will come later in the fic, but that won't be the main focus of this story. It's meant to be more mystery and adventure rather than romance.
> 
> Some other Idols and groups will make appearances throughout the story, so i hope you look forward to that! I hope you enjoy!

\--Ilsan, South Korea. April 12, 2004--

"Broad daylight. They took her in broadway daylight." Namjoon says as he knocks back his shot of bourbon, letting the burn of the alcohol spread into his chest. Across from him, his childhood friend downs his own shot before looking over at Namjoon. He knows drinking is a bad habit, and his father may very well have his head for breaking into his stash, but it's the only thing that numbs the pain.

"I was with her Yoongi," Namjoon continues, his words beginning to slur. "What kind of brother am I? I let them take her."

"They knocked you out, Joon." Yoongi tries to reassure him as refills Namjoon's glass. "You did all you could do, and still are. Let the police do their job. Your father wants to find her as badly as you do." 

"Yeah. Dad will find her right? He's the best cop I know."

"He'll find her, Joonie. He'll find her soon."

 

\--Seoul, South Korea. October 28, 2018--

Namjoon hasn't slept all night, and he doesn't plan to either. He glances down over at the clock on his night stand. 

"3am," he says with a scoff. "Hobi is lucky I'mso ambitious." Namjoon brings brings his attention back to his computer screen and continues typing up his report. Almost 6 months he's been working on this new drug connection with an upcoming gang in the South. Ever since the last drug connection they had got caught up in a police investigation, the gang has had to completely redesign their drug distribution. Namjoon was able to find a way to sell less drugs for a higher price so that his gang didn't lose money, but they were running low on supply. Needless to say, they were running out of time to find a new supplier.

Namjoon felt obligated to get his boss, one Jung Hoseok, a new connect, a better and more careful one. Normally Namjoon wouldn't work so hard at the expense of his sleep schedule, but since his father, Head of the Seoul Police Department, was the one who arrested their old supplier, Namjoon felt he had to compensate Hoseok. 

Finding new partners wasn't the real issue. There were plenty of gangs looking to get in with his. Namjoon was the right hand man in the most prolific gang in all of South Korea, afterall. No, find new partners wasn't the issue; finding smart ones was. Hoseok, originally, wanted to replace the old hook up with a rather large gang from the North. One that was well known for quality drugs and a large network of international suppliers, but Namjoon convinced him that the move would put too big a target on their back. Instead, Namjoon met with gang leader after leader of lesser known gangs and conducted thorough research to find a worthy enough partner. He finally found a gang inconspicuous enough, intelligent enough, hungry enough to introduce Hoseok to.

As Namjoon finishes up his report, he leans back on his bed and stares up the ceiling of his room. How did the son of a cop become second in command of one of the top gangs in Seoul? He doesn't have to ponder too hard to find the answer. He turns to his night stand once more, looking at the portrait next to his clock. 

"Kim Chanmi, I hope you're okay," Namjoon whispers. "Oppa hasn't forgotten you. I'll find you soon. I'll succeed where our father failed. Just hang on a little longer, okay?

\----  
"Dreamcatcher," Hoseok inquires as he reads through Namjoon's report. "That's certainly an interesting name for a gang's headquarters."

"Don't let the name fool you. That gang is a force to be reckoned with," Namjoon assures him.

"I've heard," Jungkook, the gang's youngest and weapons expert exclaims. "Some guy stole from them once and their leader had her members hunt him down and toture him. The cops still haven't found the body!"

"Exactly! Boss, Dreamcatcher is extremely meticulous and methodical. If they don't want you to know something, you won't find out. We need people like that on our side, especially with the cops on our backs." Namjoon's case for recruiting the new gang is strong. Hoseok knows that, and he's always known that Namjoon would never feed him bullshit. If these women are good enough for Namjoon, then they're good enough for him. 

"How'd you get in contact with them, Joonie," Hoseok asks as he turns to the next page in Namjoon's report. 

"Tae and I helped out," Yoongi pipes in. "One of their members is from Daegu, Siyeon. She went to the same elementary school as Tae."

"We were in the same year," Tae adds. Hoseok nods in acknowledgment. 

"Alright then, set up a meeting with them as soon as possible. Once you get a date, let Jin know that I want him to accompany us. Tae will come too. Jungkook, I want to to watch the club with Jimin. Take care of the front house, while he makes sure the our jewels are safe. Yoongi hyung, do you think you can handle being on street patrol alone?"

Yoongi grunts as he reaches into the inside pocket of his blazer and takes out his phone. "It's never been a problem before. I don't see why it would be now." He lazily taps on the screen a couple of times, presumably looking for something. When he finds it, he smirks and hands the phone over to Hoseok. "By the way, I found that son of bitch who tipped off the cops about our last drug shipment. The cops are hiding him in Jeju."

Hoseok takes the phone and examines the picture. Sure enough, pictured is one of the runners from their old connection. Hoseok smirks while looking at the picture. He should have known better than to question Yoongi's competence. 

Hoseok can't quite remember the runner's name, but he supposes it doesn't matter much anyway. With or without this guy's testimony the old connection's reputation is seriously damaged, and most of the members will be in jail for a long time. There's no hope in salvaging that relationship, so the least he could is send a message. A loud one. "All safe and sound, huh? It would be a shame if he were to just... disappear." Hoseok and Yoongi lock eyes, communicating almost telepathically.

Yoongi smiles and takes back his phone before answering."Wouldn't it, though?"


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guys meet Dreamcatcher!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope you all enjoyed the introduction to this fic.
> 
> This is the official first chapter, so i hope you enjoy. This hasn't been beta read snd i did my own editing, but I'm only human, so please forgive any errors you may come across.
> 
> There is some pretty graphic violence in this chapter so please read with caution if you choose to continue.
> 
> Enjoy!

\--Daegu, South Korea. November 5, 2018--

Unexpected. It's the only word that comes to mind since Hoseok, Jin, Taehyung and Namjoon arrived at Dreamcatcher's headquarters, a luxury hotel and casino in Daegu. Namjoon hadn't been able to find out much about the gang, only that it was a group of no nonsense women who specialized in drugs, money laundering and sex work. The fact that Namjoon could find out so little had impressed him. It's not easy to keep information so well hidden in the South Korean underworld. Hell, he had to track down a runner and buy Dreamcatcher's drugs, himself, in order to get a sense of their quality. He didn't appreciate having to spend his own money for research, but god damn if that wasn't the best evidence of the gang's competence! The drugs themselves were good shit too: pure. It made him wonder why the price was so low, but when he went back to the same runner to buy additional drugs, he found that the price had more than doubled. Dreamcatcher knew their shit was high quality. The low price was only meant to draw in new customers. These girls were smart, and it was at that moment that Namjoon knew that they had to work with them. However, if Dreamcatcher was so smart why was their name plastered on their headquarters? Openly advertising your gang's location wasn't exactly an intelligent move. Maybe they were cocky? Maybe it was a dare for anybody to start shit with them? Only Dreamcatcher knew for sure.

Namjoon follows closely behind Hoseok as they all enter the hotel. It's nice, very nice in fact. The carpets are a classy burgundy color that contrast nicely with the gray painted walls with simple lined patterns. The front desk has a black marble countertop with grayish veins, and behind it is a young woman with blonde hair.

"Hello," the young woman greets them with a bright smile, "welcome to Dreamcatcher! My name is Jiwoo, how can I assist you, today?"

"We're here to see JiU. We're her 2 o'clock." Hoseok doesn't even finish before Jiwoo's smile drops and her face blanches completely. 

"Oh! Oh I see." Jiwoo's voice is trembling, and as Namjoon observes her, he notices that her hands also shake as she reaches for the phone. Jiwoo fights her anxiety as she dials a number and waits for a response. "Yes, Ma'am. I-I'm so sorry to bother, b-but th-they're here." Is she nervous because of them, or because or JiU? "O-okay, I'll s-send them up." The young woman hangs up the phone and takes a breath, seemingly to settle herself. "P-please follow me, gentlemen."

Jiwoo leads them inside the furthest elevator and scans her key card before pressing the penthouse button. Oddly enough, when the elevator starts to move, Namjoon doesn't feel like they're going up, it feels like they're descending instead. He looks over to Hoseok who is standing right beside him. They lock eyes for a moment before Hoseok casts his eyes down slowly and nods. He knows too. A hushed ding breaks Namjoon's train of thought. The elevator slowly comes to a stop before the doors open, revealing a dimmly lit hallway and a door right across from them. They empty the elevator, and Jiwoo knocks on the door tentatively.

"Enter," a high voice calls from the otherside. Jiwoo opens the door to an... unexpected scene. There are seven women scattered around the room and in the center is a bound and gagged man on his knees, facing a woman with long jet black hair standing at the front of the room, in front of a long mahogany desk. The same woman takes one look at Jiwoo and dismisses her with a small flick of her wrist. Jiwoo bolts as fast as she can, practically slamming the door behind her.

"It seems that we are interrupting something," Hoseok speaks.

"Indeed," the woman at the front answers, "but that's my fault. I should have scheduled this earlier." The woman walks past the kneeling man, stops at a short woman with black hair and bangs and taps her shoulder. "This man should thank you, though. It looks like you saved his dick from being cut off." The kneeling man lets out a sigh of relief, but it's short lived. Quicker than Namjoon can follow, the brown haired woman pulls out a gun and shoots the man in temple. The bullet rips clean through his skull, and he's dead before he hits the ground. For a short moment, nobody moves, blinks, breathes. The air pregnant with a murderous tension that Namjoon has never experienced before, and he has seen his fair share of executions.

The black haired woman continues walking toward Hoseok and stops before greeting him with a deep but quick bow. "My name is JiU. As leader, it is a pleasure to welcome you to Dreamcatcher, Jung Hoseok. I hope you can forgive us for conducting business in your presence, but seeing how a third of our revenue comes from sex work, I can't just let a rapist live, now can I?"

"Of course not," Hoseok agrees. JiU smiles and walks back to the desk, stepping over the rapist's lifeless body. She takes a seat behind the desk before barking orders.

"Handong, Dami, please clean this mess up." A tall woman with fiery strawberry blonde hair and a shorter woman with lavendar hair acknowledge the command with a curt nod before picking up the body and leaving the room, closing the door behind them. "Siyeon, Yoohyeon, please move the couch back in place so our guests can have a seat." The two women, one with wavy brown hair and the other with icy blue hair move around the scattered furniture and usher the men to sit. Seokjin politely declines the invitation, in favor of standing next to Hoseok at the end of the couch. Taehyung takes the middle while Namjoon sits on the other end. 

"Why don't we start this with introductions," Taehyung suggests. He's always the one to break the ice, seeing as he is the one of the nost socialable people Namjoon had ever met. It came in handy, so he couldn't complain. Being the gang's information specialist, Taehyung naturally outgoing personality helped him to make connections and gather information efficiently. In fact, Tae had been the main reason why Yoongi was able to find that damn mole, and why Dreamcatcher had agreed to meet with them in the first place.

"Of course," JiU methodically introduces her members by pointing and naming them. "This is SuA, my second in command, Siyeon, Yoohyeon and Gahyeon. My members who left are Handong, who is blonde and the other is Dami."

"Nice to meet all of you," Taehyung responds as brightly as possible with his award worthy smile. "You already know Hoseok, this is Jin, I'm Taehyung and this is Namjoon, Hoseok's second." JiU only nods with a small smile and interlaces her fingers while bringing them up to her chin.

"I'll be frank JiU, we have a business proposition for you," Hoseok cuts to the chase.

"Consisting of what?"

"We would like for you to become our new drug supplier." JiU leans back in her chair, but keeps her fingers intertwined. She narrows her eyes at Hoseok, as if pondering hard about something.

"And to what do we owe this honor?" Namjoon automatically knows what JiU is doing. She wants more information. She's not going to jump at the chance to work with the most powerful gang in Korea just because it fell into her lap. No, JiU is smarter than that. But he had expected as much, and he warned Hoseok to expect it, as well.

"I'm sure you've heard the rumors," Hoseok begins. "Our old partner had a snitch. The cops shut down the operation and seized the goods. We need a new partner. A more intelligent, meticulous supplier, who knows how to breed loyalty and keep order." Hobi is one hell of a sweet talker, Namjoon will give him that.

"It's funny that you speak of loyalty and order. Seems as though you lack both considering the the circumstances." Namjoon wasn't expecting that response. He can't tell if JiU is purposefully trying to provoke them, or is genuinely concerned. Either way, it's a rather rude response.

"As you well know, some things are simply out of our control," Hoseok subtly nods toward the splattered blood of the now dead rapist on the wall. JiU acknowledges the gesture and tenses her gaze. Hobi may have just pissed her off, but in this game, you have to give what you get. "I am unable to do anything for our old supplier, unfortunately. Even with the best lawyers they'll be tied up in the justice system for years. The gang's reputation is tarnished, their assets are frozen, and, if they are released, it will take them too long to rebuild. Nonetheless," Hoseok pauses and leans forward, placing his elbows on either thigh while folding his hands together. "I value loyalty, and I don't like snitches. Out of respect the past relationship with our supplier, we tracked down the mole and punished him accordingly. " 

Jin then steps over to JiU's desk and pulls out a manilla envelope from his coat. He places it in front of her before stepping back to take his place beside Hoseok. JiU opens the envelope and empties its contents onto her desk. She spreads out the photos and looks them over as her members flock to her side, curiosity obviously getting the better of them.

"You really did a number on this guy didn't you," a short woman with black hair speaks, Namjoon remembers her name: Gahyeon. 

"We prioritize loyalty above all, Gahyeon," Jin addresses her. "I don't know the motivation this man had for ratting out his gang, but in this world if you don't have loyalty, you have nothing. Now he is nothing." Jin doesn't always speak during meetings. As one of Hoseok's enforcers, he'd much rather observe and stay alert in case his skills are needed. However, Jin also knows exactly what to say to drive his point right into the heart of his listeners.

"I have to admit," JiU begins speaking again, still observing the photos, "I had my doubts about you. I met with you out of courtesy to Siyeon because she and Taehyung are friends, but I want to be clear about something." Namjoon straightens himself. This is it: do or die. "We don't usually conduct business with men, and from what you have told us, it seems that a there is a demand in your territory, that we have the supply for. So then why shouldn't we just come in and take your customers for ourselves?" Bold. Very bold. JiU is on the precipice of starting a very violent war. One she knows they can't win. They have neither the size nor resources to go to war with any gang, much less the one that sits at the top of the mountain. Nevertheless the less, Namjoon keeps his cool. He would be justified if he were to berate the young leader, but JiU isn't dumb. She wouldn't do something like this if she didn't have a plan, but what is it?

"You could certainly do that," Hoseok leans back against the couch and crosses his legs while spreading his arms. "I wouldn't suggest it. There will be many gangs trying to do the same, but we do a very good job protecting our territory."

"Are you attempting to bully us into working with you Jung Hoseok," one of the other women, Yoohyeon, raises her voice in defiance and awe.

"Absolutely not," Hoseok assures her. "Let's say we let you sell in our territory without becoming our partner. We wouldn't be able to offer extra protection from other gangs. Plus, you'll have multiple dealers in one territory. I'm sure you know how economics works. A monopoly is always more profitable than a competitive market. We plan to put you on our payroll, and we don't pay cheap. This will be in addition to the percentage of the profits you'll keep for supplying the product."

"I have more conditions," JiU states flatly. "You get no income from our businesses conducted outside of your territory, and one of my members is to negotiate the terms of sale for all drops. We don't want our reputation ruined because you can't market our product correctly."

"We can respect those terms-"

"I wasn't finished," JiU interrupts Hoseok. Namjoon watches as Hoseok tenses, ever so slightly. Not in fear, but in surprise. Only fellow members have ever dared to interrupt him. "I know you deal in sex work. You'd have to allow me access to inspect your brothels to ensure that the workers are consenting and safe. I warn you now, these inspections will be impromptu and thorough."

"I will not only allow this, but also promise you that if you find any coercion of any kind, you can have the perpetrator." Hobi has never been fond of rapists. He had once confided to Namjoon that his older sister had been raped and later suffered from PTSD. She was never the same again, but neither was her rapist. Hoseok made sure of that.

JiU nods and smiles widely. "Then I believe you just found yourself a new supplier." Namjoon, Taehyung and Hoseok stand up as JiU walks around the desk and approaches Hoseok. "I look forward to doing business with you, Jung Hoseok." She bows deeply one more time and all her members follow her lead. The guys bow as well.

Hoseok locks eyes with JiU before uttering, "The pleasure is ours, JiU."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on twitter if you'd like! @MultiRain


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the night of the first deal, and Namjoon gets more than he expected!

\--Ilsan, South Korea. April 12, 2005--

Namjoon freezes mid-bite. Terror taking hold of his thoughts and causing him to lose all control of limbs. He stares at his father, sitting at the edge of the dinner table to his left. Namjoon couldn’t have heard him right; there’s just no way his father would ever say that.

“The police are stopping the investigation?” Namjoon’s mother’s voice barely registers in his mind. The shock has set in, dulling everything around him. Namjoon can hear everything, but nothing is really getting through to him.

“It’s already been a year, Eunbi. We’ve followed every lead, and the case has gone cold.” His father sounds so detached. This is his daughter, Namjoon’s sister whom he’s talking about!

“Kim Jaehyuk, you can’t stop the investigation!” It occurs to Namjoon that his mother is getting louder. If he doesn’t snap out of whatever trance he’s in, they’ll end up arguing again. “Chanmi is still out there, probably scared out of her mind!”

“She’s more than likely dead by now.” Namjoon doesn’t remember much after that. He vaguely remembers hearing a loud crash, followed by a few thuds and his mother’s incessant screaming. 

When he does come to, he’s in his room with his mother hovering over him. “Joonie,” she says softly, “can you hear me?” He has a pounding headache and his body hurts, but he manages to nod in response. 

“What happened,” he groans as tries to gather himself.

“You attacked your father.” Namjoon should be more surprised and horrified than he is. He really should. He knows better than to raise his hands to an elder, especially his own father. He was definitely raised better than that, and he knows that Chanmi would be disappointed if she were to ever find out. However, Namjoon can’t bring himself to care. For all that he does not remember, he does recall what his father said before Namjoon blacked out, before he went into shock. He remembers the ice in his father’s voice as he mentioned Chanmi being dead. How? How could he? Chanmi is his daughter! His flesh and blood! How could he just give up on her?! How could he even entertain the thought of Chanmi being dead!

“She’s not dead, Mom,” Namjoon finally manages to speak after a long silence. “She’s just not.”

“Namjoon,”

“SHE’S NOT DEAD! She can’t be dead!”

“I know, Joonie. I know she’s not dead. She’s still out there.” Namjoon breaks down at hearing the resolve in his mother’s voice. He lets his mother hold him as he cries hysterically. 

“I’ll find her,” Namjoon coughs out through dry heaves and heavy sobs. “If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll find her.”

 

\--Seoul, South Korea. November 10, 2018--

It’s the day of their first drop, and everything depends on how well this goes. JiU said that Dami and Handong would be the ones to handle this drop. Namjoon knows that he probably shouldn’t, but he can’t help but think poorly of JiU for not handling such an important drop herself. Hell, even Hoseok is here along with Jimin, and both Jin and Jungkook are standing guard outside of the private room on the second floor of the gang’s most popular club, El Patron.  
Hoseok doesn’t like to conduct drops at any of their clubs, much less El Patron. It’s much too public, too many things can go wrong, but Handong insisted on doing the drop here, and her stone like face told Namjoon that this was non-negotiable. Still, how they planned on smuggling ten kilos of drugs into the club was beyond Namjoon. Nevertheless, Hoseok had agreed to JiU’s terms, and that meant that her members dictated the conditions of the drops. 

“Maybe we gave them too much power,” Namjoon thinks aloud as he leans back on his seat, relaxing into the burgundy velvet upholstery. 

“Their terms weren’t totally unreasonable,” Hoseok answers while sipping on his glass of champagne. “Besides this is their first time working with us. I’d expect them to be at least a little cautious. We can’t exactly start a scene here if things go sour.” Namjoon can definitely agree with him on that part. The more that they interact with Dreamcatcher the more Namjoon is convinced they are the smartest gang he’s ever dealt with. 

“Still, El Patron isn’t the most convenient place to conduct drops,” Jimin interjects. He walks around the room with both hands tucked away in the pants pockets of three-piece Gucci suit, Yoongi and Taehyung’s third anniversary gift to him, if Namjoon remembers correctly. “Especially with the cops on us like hawks after our last connection got caught.”

“I’m not worried about the cops,” Namjoon answers. “You do a good job keeping up a front for this place. If they haven’t found anything yet, they’re not going to.”

“Even if they do, Tae’s connections at the station will make sure nothing sticks,” Hoseok adds as he takes another sip of his champagne. 

“Doesn’t make those damn cops any less annoying.” Jimin sighs and gently runs a hand through his silver hair. Jimin had always been nervous about cops, but that’s why everyone Hoseok entrusted the clubs to him. No one was as meticulous as Jimin. He was a shrewd businessman with accounting skills that would put the Minister of Finance to shame. If anyone could keep the clubs in order it was Jimin. 

“Speaking of cops, Namjoonie, isn’t today the anniversary of your mother’s death?” It is. “Did Mr. Kim decide to pay his respects?” He did, which amazed Namjoon. Namjoon relationship with his father became strained when he stopped searching for Chanmi, and Namjoon cut all ties with the man as soon as he was old enough to live on his own. The two men only kept up with one another through Namjoon’s mother, Son Eunbi, who passed away two years ago. They briefly saw each other during the funeral but did not speak. On the first anniversary of Son Eunbi’s death, Namjoon had expected to run into this father at her grave, but he did not. He would later find out that his father was starting his campaign for Chief of Police and too busy kissing some politician’s ass to visit his wife’s grave.

Needless to say, Namjoon was surprised to see his father lay flowers at his mother’s grave, earlier in the day. It made him sick. It made him furious. It made him want to attack his father like he did on the anniversary of his sister’s kidnapping. The man couldn’t bother to find his only daughter, couldn’t bother to reach out to their only soon, but still had the nerve to show his face this year? Namjoon felt the rage boiling within him. He clenched his hands tightly, as if to literally hold himself together. He could have charged at the man and unleash years’ worth of pent up frustration, but Namjoon knew better. Years as the second in command of the strongest gang South Korea, granted him wisdom and, above all, patience. He knew the time would come when he’d be able to hit his father where it would hurt the most, but first thing was first: he had to find Chanmi.

“Namjoon hyung?” Jimin snaps Namjoon out of his apparent trance. It’s only then that he realizes that Hoseok had been waiting for an answer.

“Oh, yeah I saw him. I didn’t talk to him, but he did leave her flowers: daisies,” Namjoon pauses only briefly to scoff, “He didn’t even remember that her favorites were jasmines.” There’s a pause. It’s not awkward or tense, but pregnant with disappointment. The three present in the room, and the four who are not, all share the same understanding: Kim Jaehyuk, Namjoon’s father, the Chief of Police was a piece of shit. They wanted nothing more than to see him plunge into obscurity. Namjoon already had plans to initiate his father’s descent from grace, and it started with finding his sister.

“By the way, Hoseok,” Namjoon breaks the silence, “how is that lead coming along?” Hoseok sighs and puts his glass down.

“Not good, unfortunately. The driver of that get away car died two days after Chanmi’s kidnapping. The police report said that the cause of death was accidental suicide by overdose.” 

“That sounds suspicious to me, hyung,” Jimin states as he leans against the door. “There’s got to be more to the death than that.”

“I think so too. Yoongi hyung and Tae are looking into it.” Namjoon gives a curt nod. He’s disappointed of course. He’d worked damn hard to get that information on the kidnappers. He’d thought that he finally had something solid when he found the former resident of the house outside of which the kidnapping took place. She was a Chinese first-year college student by the name of Kyulkyung. She was around six years old at the time, but she remembers that she had stayed home from school that day because she was sick. Her mother had been at the store when the kidnapping happened, but when Kyulkyung heard the commotion outside, she couldn’t help but look out the window. When she saw what was happening, she took a picture with the first camera she found. Kyulkyung moved back to Shanghai, China a couple of weeks after the incident, but her parents never told her the reason for the move. She decided to move back to Korea on her own to pursue a career in music. 

The picture she had provided was blurry, and only after many hours, a lot of patience and a very agitated, but helpful, Jungkook, could Namjoon finally make out what was happening in the picture. There were four men: three wore ski masks and were jumping into a black van, with Chanmi in hand. The fourth man was in the drivers’ seat of the car. He wasn’t wearing a mask, but he was looking directly into the camera. That was probably the reason Kyulkyung’s parents decided to move back to China: whatever gang this was had threatened them.

Namjoon compared the face to every government database he could get his hands on and finally came up with a name: Bae Soowon. That was when he handed the information over to Hoseok for help tracking this man down. Namjoon had high hopes that Bae Soowon would still be alive and lead him straight to Chanmi, but it looks like the universe had other plans.

“I should have known it wouldn’t have been that easy. Nothing surrounding Chanmi is.” Namjoon is visibly dejected. Jimin makes his over and places his hand on Namjoon’s shoulder gently. It’s a small gesture, but it reminds Namjoon that he’s not in this alone.

The sound of knocking cuts through the silence, and Hoseok gives the person permission to enter. The door opens to reveal Jin, Jungkook, and the women that the guys had been waiting for: Dami and Handong, both wearing black three-piece pant suits and carrying briefcases. The women greet them before Jin leaves to stand guard and closes the door.

“Welcome ladies,” Hoseok greets them. Dami gives a small smile, but Handong stares coldly. “You two are quite conspicuous. How’d you manage to get past men? I would have been notified if someone so suspicious walked into my club.”

“About that,” Handong begins, “get better men.”

Jimin immediately scoffs, “I beg your pardon? What’s wrong with my men?” 

“They’re easily manipulated. Oh, and one of them is dead.” A million scenarios are running Namjoon’s mind. As frantic as his thoughts are, he tries to remain expressionless. He looks over at Hoseok to see the man has lost his smile, but he doesn’t look upset either. He seems rather, neutral.

“You killed one of my men?!” Jimin is outraged, understandably so. He goes to great lengths in the hiring process to ensure that only the best are situated at El Patron. To think that someone slipped through the cracks is… upsetting. 

“I didn’t, she did” Handong answers, pointing to Dami who only smirks proudly. “When he gave me entrance to the back of the building after flirted with him, we decided he couldn’t be trusted, so Dami shot him. If your other men don’t find him by the time this meeting is over, I’d suggest you fire them too.” Namjoon can feel anger radiating off of Jimin. As bright and cheerful as Jimin is, he’s last person you’d want to make angry. 

“Then I suppose you did us a favor,” Hoseok says as he stands up. “Like I told JiU, I value loyalty.”

“Indeed, shall we continue with the drop then?” Hoseok and Handong exchange a simple look. It is not without tension, but Namjoon can tell that the women have earned a level of respect that comes with demonstrated loyalty. Maybe this was all part of their plan, after all. They exposed a weakness, and no ones wants to deal in a stronghold with weak spots. Now it was time for Namjoon and everyone to prove themselves worthy.  
The rest of the drop goes smoothly. Jimin and Jungkook take their time measuring the product and determine that there is in fact ten kilos of it, during which, Jimin does receive a call from his other men telling him that they found one of the guards dead in the alley behind the dumpsters. At least they don’t have to worry about doing a massive personnel overhaul. Namjoon hands Handong the briefcase with their pay, and Dami counts it before Handong starts speaking to Dami in another language. Dami then makes eye contact with Namjoon.

“You’re Namjoon, right,” she asks. Namjoon nods. “I have some information for you, regarding one, Kim Chanmi.” The tension spikes in an instant. So many questions are running through Namjoon’s head, and he can barely focus on anything other than Dami, but he tries to stay in control. He has to find out what she knows.

“Wait, what do you know about that name,” Jungkook jumps in, almost panicking. 

“I can’t say for sure, but if that name is important to you than I’d suggest you listen very closely,” Dami answers calmly. Namjoon gulps but doesn’t say a word. This is like a dream for him, will it be a nightmare? “We’ve had our eye on a certain escort service in Seoul for a couple of years now. We had suspected that the gang running it was trafficking women. One of our undercover operatives let us know that they just got a new girl. She was put in the care of our operative which gave her the impression that the girl was trafficked. The girl will only speak to the service’s owner, a Cha Youngbin, but she does talk in her sleep, and keeps mentioning a ‘Namjoon oppa’.”

“That has to be Chanmi,” Namjoon whispers in disbelief. He’d been looking for so long. It had to have been some divine providence that this new drug connection would finally lead him to his baby sister. “What other information do you have? I need to know everything.”  
“We’ll send you everything we know soon. Unfortunately, the only thing more I can right now is that the service gave her a new name: Kim Chungha.” With that Dami follows Handong out the door, and presumably, out of El Patron. Namjoon lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding falls back into his seat.  
“Hyung!” Jungkook leaps to side in a second. “Are you okay, hyung? Say something!”

“Cha Youngbin,” Namjoon mutters. “Who is Cha Youngbin?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's been a while! I'm sorry it took so long! I got a little stuck, and then I felt a unmotivated. However, I reinvigorated myself and I cannot wait to continue this story! I hope you enjoy!


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dami delivers and the boys need help!  
> \-------  
> Happy New Lunar Year! This is my gift to you! I hope you enjoy! Also leave comments if you'd like, I'm also happy to read and reply!!!

\--Jeju, South Korea, July 20, 2002--

The Kim family was in shambles. Namjoon and Chanmi found themselves waking up in the middle of the night very often, thanks to their parents’ constant arguing. They had been fighting a lot lately. Over what, Namjoon could never figure out, but it was starting to take its toll on everyone. The kids fell asleep in during school time because they couldn’t sleep. Their mother, Eunbi, decided to take a sabbatical from her job in an attempt to cool things down at home. She spent more time with Namjoon and Chanmi and did everything to keep the house in order. She had believed that it would help her husband destress to come home to a relaxing environment, but it was all in vain. Jaehyuk didn’t even seem to notice the extra effort that Eunbi was putting into their marriage. In fact, having her home more often seemed to make him more upset. After months of this, Jaehyuk decided that the family could use a vacation to Jeju Island. He thought that time away from “it all” would help them destress and get closer as a family. Namjoon had high hopes that his father would be right, and it seemed to be the case… for the first day.  
After settling into the hotel, the family spent the day in a theme park called Maze Land. It was a rather warm day, but the park had sprinklers to keep them cool. Namjoon and Chanmi even found a stream to play in while the family tried to find their way out of the first maze. The family of four had so much fun finding their way out of the first maze, that they stayed in extra two hours just to go through one of the harder mazes. Namjoon loved seeing his parents finally getting along. The family was only able to find their way out of both mazes thanks to them working together, as Namjoon and Chanmi were too busy playing with the streams, sprinklers and the family of rabbits that they became completely enamored with. 

After the park, Eunbi suggested eating at a local restaurant. Everyone conversed and laughed the entire dinner. Namjoon was happy to see everyone having so much fun, especially his parents. Jaehyuk was more affectionate to Enubi at the restaurant than eight-year-old Namjoon ever remembered him being lately, and when they got back to the hotel, they tucked him and Chanmi in before heading to bed themselves.  
Namjoon was fast asleep, finally feeling at peace about his family when, at midnight he was awakened by the familiar sounds of yet another argument between Jaehyuk and Eunbi.

“I thought the point of this trip was to reconnect,” Namjoon hears his mother yell, “why are you bringing this up again?”

“Because I’m not over it,” Namjoon’s father yells back. “I can’t stop thinking about it! How could you do that to me?!”

“I already said I was sorry! I don’t know what more you want me to do!”

“What did I do to deserve that, huh? Haven’t I always been good to you?”

“Do you really think you’ve been the best husband in the world?!” Namjoon turned over in his bed and threw his pillow over his head. He didn’t want to hear anymore of the argument. He had already heard more than his fair share of his parents’ fights. It upset him that he couldn’t figure out the root cause of his arguments because he couldn’t do anything to help if he didn’t know what the problem was! All he could do was stay still and hope his parents would make up soon.

Knock, knock. Namjoon heard a small knock at his door, followed by the squeaking sound of it opening. He watched in silence as the door cracked open to reveal Chanmi, holding her favorite Ryan plush doll, the one he had given her to help her sleep when the arguments first started.

“Oppa, are you sleeping,” the little girl asked in a hushed whisper. Namjoon sat up in the bed, crossing his legs.

“How can I, with Eomma and Appa screaming like that? Did they wake you up?” Chanmi nodded, squeezing Ryan closely to her chest. Namjoon patted the spot next to him on the bed, and Chanmi practically ran to occupy it, forgetting to close the door behind her. 

“They got along earlier,” Chanmi said as she took the spot next to her older brother, “why are they fighting now?”

“I don’t know, Chanmi, but don’t worry about it,” Namjoon tried to reassure her. “They’ll figure it out and stop fighting soon. Let’s just try to get some sleep now, okay?” Chanmi nodded and laid down, still holding tightly to Ryan. Namjoon wanted to go to sleep too, but he can’t. He’s too worried about his parents, about Chanmi, about his crumbling family. What was he supposed to do? At that moment, he did the only thing he could think of: tuck Chanmi in and make sure she didn’t have a nightmare.

 

\--Soeul, South Korea, November 13, 2018--

Dami didn’t waste any time getting the information about Chanmi to Namjoon. The morning after the drop, Namjoon was awakened by a loud knock on his door, not that he had slept much anyway. He went to answer it but found the hallway empty. Instead there was a large manila envelope with his name on it sitting at the foot of his door. Namjoon has been reading the contents of the envelope ever since.

Inside the envelope, Namjoon finds several documents and accompanying pictures. Most of the information is about the escort service in question: its location, owners, enforcers, cover, etc. Dami wasn’t lying when she said that Dreamcatcher had been watching this place for a while. There’s at least 2 years’ worth of information on this escort service, and Namjoon was grateful for it. It saved him a lot of time and effort. 

Namjoon is halfway through the documents while drinking a cup of coffee when he hears his door unlock. He’s not worried though. Only his fellow Bangtan members have the keys to his apartment. Sure enough, Hoseok and Yoongi come walking through the door and join Namjoon where he sits in the living room.

“You look hellish, Joon,” Yoongi says flatly as he has a seat. Leave it to Yoongi to be so blunt.

“Haven’t had much sleep,” Namjoon replies honestly. 

“Reading kept you up all night,” Hoseok asks, “or was it what Dami said?”

“Knowing that my sister is so close and yet so far definitely kept me up. This,” Namjoon motions to the documents in his hand and spread out on the coffee table, “I found at my door this morning. It’s from Dami.” Hoseok takes a seat next to Namjoon and picks up one of the pictures on the table.

“Isn’t this Im Hyunsoo? Leader of the gang in Jongno-gu and royal pain in my fucking ass,” he asks. Yoongi perks up at the mention of the gang leader and holds out his hand, silently asking to see the picture. Hoseok hands it over with disdain in his eyes, understandably so. Im Hyunsoo has a stranglehold on the one of the only districts in Soeul that Hoseok can’t get into. Other gangs were at least willing to work with him, but Hyunsoo has been holding out since Bangtan came onto the crime scene. Not only that, but Jin had long suspected that Hyunsoo was behind a few incidents regarding Bangtan’s sex business. It was nothing the enforcer couldn’t handle, nevertheless it was a pain to torture and kill the men sent to kidnap their prostitutes. Besides, the low-level men always kept their mouths shut, taking their boss’ name to the grave, but Jin knew it was Hyunsoo. He just did. 

“That’s him alright,” Namjoon answers. “Turns out he’s the one who owns the escort service that Chanmi is in. This Cha Youngbin person oversees his sex workers, but according to these documents, Youngbin is too young to have been involved with Chanmi’s kidnapping.”

“But Hyunsoo isn’t,” Yoongi comments. “This old fart has been on the scene for over 30 years. Maybe he’s connected to Chanmi’s kidnapping.” Yoongi then throws the picture back on the table, and picks up another picture, carefully observing it.

“He might be, but I can’t know for sure until I get Chanmi back.”

“You have a plan, yet?”

“I need a little more information before I can formulate a plan, Hobi. According to Dami’s information the escort service has an administrative office that connects clients to prostitutes at undisclosed locations throughout Jongno-gu. The informant says that one of the major locations is a nightclub in Hyehwa-dong. It’s where they have the newer girls meet clients.”

“But if they don’t have a permanent location for the prostitutes for work purposes, where do they keep them when they’re not on the clock?”

“I don’t know, Hyung,” Namjoon sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “The informant says that the gang doesn’t provide housing for the girls, but she does think that they may have a ‘storage’ place for those who were trafficked.”

“Didn’t Dami say that the informant heard Chanmi talking in her sleep, though,” Hoseok points out. Indeed, that didn’t make much sense to Namjoon either. Then again, he remembers that Chanmi could always find places to nap: on chairs, couches, floors. Hell, his father used to get mad at Chanmi because he used to trip over her when she took naps in the living room.

“Chanmi can get comfortable almost anywhere,” Namjoon thinks aloud. “It wouldn’t surprise me if she fell asleep somewhere in public, and the informant overheard her. I tell you this much though: she never used to talk in her sleep.”

“Definitely a sign of trauma,” Yoongi interjects. “Tae sometimes talks in his sleep when he has nightmares of when his teacher molested him when he was 12. Jimin and I always have calm him down before he can fall back asleep.” A shiver makes it way down Namjoon’s spine. He doesn’t want to think about the potential trauma Chanmi’s been through these past 14 years. He doesn’t want to have to accept that reality.

“Whatever it was, I hope it wasn’t too bad,” Namjoon whispers to himself. He really doesn’t want to get into that conversation right now, or ever for that matter. “I need to find out where they keep the trafficked girls.”

“We may need to speak with one of the trafficked girls directly to do that,” Hoseok thinks aloud. “We’ll have to go on a rescue mission.”

“Now hold on Hobi,” Yoongi interrupts, “I want Chanmi back as quickly as possible too, but let’s think this through. If any of us set foot in Jongno-gu Hyunsoo will declare war.”

“We’re a bigger gang with more connections and resources than he’ll ever have. He’d be stupid to declare war on us,” Hoseok argues.

“No, I agree with hyung, Hobi. We don’t want to do anything that might put Dreamcatcher’s informant in danger, and especially not Chanmi.” Namjoon places the documents on the coffee table. He rests his elbows on his keens and brings his hands close to his mouth, in prayer position. “We do need to speak to one of those girls though. Question is, how do we rescue one without drawing suspicion to ourselves?”

A pensive quiet fall upon the three men. They need to come up with a solution before Hyunsoo puts Chanmi “on the market”.

“You know what,” Hoseok finally breaks the silence, “Dreamcatcher’s helped us once with this, maybe they’ll do it again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Everyone! 
> 
> I know it's been a while since the last update. I really did a lot of research while writing this chapter. I hope you enjoy it! I already started writing the next chapter so hopefully it will be out soon!
> 
> Also, since money is tight for me nowadays, I'll be opening commissions after this fic concludes. I'll give out more information regarding commissions in the upcoming updates. I hope you anticipate it!


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Namjoon takes an unintended step back before he takes two steps forward. Good thing he has careful friends!

\--Daegu, South Korea. November 14, 2018--

This room is different than the one that Namjoon had first met JiU in. For starters, this one is on the top floor of Dreamcatcher’s headquarters. It’s decorated more like a formal meeting office. It’s a white room with floor to ceiling windows draped in ivory curtains. In the center is a large circular white rug with a gray geometric pattern. On it are tub accented seats, with gray andblack linen-weave upholstery, set in a circle around a metal and glass coffee table. It’s a nice room, thoughtfully decorated; clearly where Dreamcatcher conducted more civil business negotiations. It makes Namjoon think that the other room was specifically for the more hostile business dealings. That could only mean that JiU wanted everyone to witness that murder. Maybe the reason was intimidation, maybe it was to impress them, or maybe it was to show that Dreamcatcher wouldn’t be bullied. Namjoon can only speculate at this point, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t impressed by the women’s methods.

 

“Thank you for seeing us on such short notice, JiU-ssi.” Namjoon says as JiU walks him and Jungkook further into the room.

“When you mentioned that it was about Chanmi, I couldn’t say no,” JiU replies without looking back at him. “Please have a seat.” Namjoon and Jungkook sit down as directed, right next one another. JiU takes her seat across from them. She sits back into her chair and crosses her legs, bringing both her arms to rest comfortably on the armrests.

“Yes, well,” Namjoon begins, a little unsure how to properly frame his request. “I guess I should just be straight forward. We need your help to get in contact with one of the trafficked women in Jongno-gu. I need to know where Im Hyunsoo’s gang keeps their trafficked girls. I don’t know if Chanmi will be there, but it seems like my best bet.”

JiU hums in understanding. “That’s a rather difficult request Namjoon-ssi. We would have freed all the women from Hyunsoo if it were that easy.” As smart as Namjoon is, he hadn’t thought about that. Dreamcatcher’s M-O so far has been keep to sex workers safe and protecting people from sexual predators. If there had been an opportunity to rescue even one of Hyunsoo’s victims, JiU would have pulled the trigger on a rescue mission by now.

“JiU-ssi,” Jungkook speaks up, “We can come with a plan ourselves to rescue at least one of the trafficked women. The main thing is we don’t have any connections Jongno-gu, except for your informant.” The unspoken request thickens the air. Namjoon observes JiU carefully as her face changes from that that uncertainty to a dangerous irritation. Her eyebrow twitches, and she brings one of her hands to her face, rubbing on her chin while her other hand grips the armrest tightly.

“Are you asking me to arrange a meeting with you and my operative?”

“Yes,” Namjoon answers firmly.

“Are you aware of what you’re asking me?” JiU lets the question hang for a moment before continuing. “Do you realize the danger I’d be putting her in if I were to arrange that? She wouldn’t be able to go back. Then what do we do, huh? We would have lost the only connection we had in Jongno-gu.”

“I know we’re asking a lot,”

“No,” JiU interrupts Namjoon, raising her voice at him, and yet maintaining a calm disposition. “Asking for an audience with one of the trafficked women was a lot. THIS is ludicrous! We’ve been working on this for two years! TWO!”

“THIS IS MY SISTER,” Namjoon snaps back at her, slamming his hands on the table. His outburst shocks both Jungkook and JiU. There’s a loud bang followed by the clocking of a gun, then another immediately afterward. Namjoon looks to Jungkook and finds that he is standing with his gun aiming at someone behind Namjoon. Namjoon continues to turn his head until he finds none other than Siyeon, taking aim at the back of his head. Any other person would be surprised, but any other person isn’t Namjoon. He’s been in situations like this before. Siyeon would’ve shot already if she actually thought that her leader was in danger. She pulled her gun as a warning for Namjoon to watch his mouth and his temper. Namjoon looks back at JiU. Her head is tilted, and her eyes are narrowed, waiting for his next move. He takes a breath.

“Put down your gun, Jungkook,” Namjoon orders, his eyes never leaving JiU.

“But hyung!”

“Now,” Namjoon demands more firmly. Jungkook reluctantly puts his gun away and sits back down, all the while watching Siyeon like a hawk. “I apologize for my inappropriate behavior, JiU-ssi.”

“Apology accepted. Siyeon, your presence is no longer needed.” With that, Siyeon brings down her and exits the room, closing the door behind her. “Namjoon-ssi, I don’t want you to think that I’m not sympathetic to your cause. I understand that you have been looking for Chanmi for a very long time, but please consider what you are asking of me.” JiU pauses, waiting for Namjoon to respond. When he doesn’t JiU decides to further explain. “If I grant this request, we’d have to start all over again. We’re trying to take down the largest sex-trafficking operation in Seoul. How many more people will Hyunsoo kidnap in the time it takes for us to make another connection in Jongno-gu?”

“JiU-ssi,” Namjoon speaks slowly, intently, “I know you have a plan. It is not my intention to disrupt that, but please try to understand. I’ve been looking for my sister for fourteen years. Fourteen years we’ve been separated. Fourteen years she’s endured things I don’t even want to think about, and, especially now, knowing that Im Hyunsoo has possibly had her this entire time. You know what kind of person he is, JiU-ssi. So please, please grant this request.” JiU stares at Namjoon in awe and fidgets subtly in thought. Namjoon is deathly nervous. He can comprehend if JiU ultimately denies him this request. She is more focused on the big picture, which makes sense, but he hopes, he prays to whatever deity that will listen, that she grants this request. He prays that JiU will provide what he needs to finally be reunited with Chanmi.

“Fine,” JiU whispers with a deep and drawn-out sigh. “I will grant this request, but you will meet on my terms. There may be way to arrange a meeting without drawing suspicion to my informant. I’ll have to figure out how.” JiU stands up, and, following her lead, Namjoon and Jungkook stand, as well. “In the meantime, go home. I’ll contact you when I have everything set.”

Namjoon lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Thank you, JiU-ssi. You have no idea how much this means to me, and I promise to return the favor tenfold.” “I’ll hold you to that, Namjoon-ssi.” JiU holds out her hand. Namjoon takes it without any hesitance, stealing the deal.

 

\--Seongnam, Gyeonggi, South Korea. November 16, 2018--

 

Namjoon and Jin sit in Jin’s car. They’re parked outside of a shabby hotel in the Sujeong-gu of Seongnam, waiting for a call. They don’t know who from yet, only that it will concern the Jongno-gu informant.

“This looks a safe place to meet a sex worker,” Jin sarcastically comments as he looks around the area.

“It’s discreet. That’s what’s most important here.” Jin only scoffs and rolls his eyes. “We need to get information, but top priority is to keep the informant safe. Only authorized people can know that this meeting occurred.”

“So, what are Dreamcatcher gonna do? Kill everyone who works in this hotel? What’s the plan?” “I don’t know, Hyung.” “There’s too much that we don’t know about this meeting Namjoon. I don’t like it.” Namjoon knew that Jin wouldn’t be happy about the circumstances, but he’s still happy that Jin decided to tag along. Jin is reliable and damn good at his job. If anything went wrong, he could ensure everyone’s safety. Hell, Jin wouldn’t even let it get to that point. The enforcer was so observant that he could spot trouble from a mile away. There wasn’t anybody else that Namjoon would want by his side.

“I know but thank you for coming anyway.”

“Please, Joonie. A meeting this dangerous? I would have come even if you had begged me not to.” He knows, he knows Jin would have. Namjoon smiles to himself. He’s glad to have a friend like Jin. He may be jumping the gun, but, in this moment, he can’t help but think about when he finally gets to introduce Chanmi to all his friends. He really can’t wait for it: to have all his family together. Namjoon is pulled out of his short daydream by the hushed buzzing of his phone.

“Answer it,” Jin tells him, but keeps staring outside the driver’s window. Namjoon notices that Jin is glaring rather intensely at the store across the street from the hotel. At quick glance, it looks like a chicken spot, but Namjoon doesn’t pay much attention to it. Instead, he finally answers his phone.

“Go.”

“3-1-2,” a woman’s voice comes on the phone, but Namjoon can’t quite place it. “Eight minutes.” With that, the woman hangs up. It’s best to keep telephone communication short and sweet he supposes.

“I’ve got eight minutes hyung,” he turns to the enforcer who is still staring at the chicken shop.

“You’d better go then.”

“You’re not coming with?”

“I’m fairly certain I’m needed most down here.” Jin’s voice is icy, but thoughtful, as though he’s already spotted trouble and is formulating a plan.

“Anything I need to worry about?” If Jin has already spotted trouble, Namjoon knows he doesn’t have much time to get the information he needs, and he already promised JiU that he’d keep her operative safe. Honestly, that’s his top priority, because even if her cover is blown, Namjoon has the means to keep her out of harm’s way. Which means, she could still lead him to Chanmi.

“I’ll get to you in time if anything, just keep your gun on you.” Namjoon gives the enforcer an assuring nod and exits the car. He keeps his stride nonchalant, looking around vaguely, but naturally as he enters the hotel. If there is someone following them, he doesn’t want to give the person any reason to believe that they’ve been caught. 

Namjoon wasn’t sure what he had expected when he walked into the hotel, but definitely wasn’t expecting to see a familiar baby-faced young woman behind the front desk.

“Good Afternoon sir,” the young woman greets him with a bright smile. “My name is Gahyeon, how can I help you today?” At first, Namjoon is taken aback, what kind of game is this? He gives Gahyeon questioning look, to which her response is only shifting her eyes to the right corner of the room.

 _Cameras_ , which means that the hotel is under surveillance and not Dreamcatcher’s. In other words, Namjoon has to tread lightly, under the guise of a customer.

“Yes, actually. I’m here to see a _friend_ in room 3-1-2.”

“Ah yes! You have good timing, sir. She just checked in.” Gahyeon types something onto the computer in front of her, then grabs a key from off the wall to her left. “Here you go! The stairs are in the back to your left.”

\---

Namjoon takes a breath before knocking on the door.

“If you have a key, enter,” a woman’s voice from the other side answers, the same voice that called him earlier. Now Namjoon would have been more than happy to use the key initially, but he figured that knocking would be the polite thing to do. In this case, he figures politeness isn’t relevant. He unlocks the door quickly and closes it behind him just as fast.

“Kim Namjoon-ssi,” the woman sitting on the loveseat with her legs crossed asks. She has long jet-black hair, pulled black in a high ponytail, and, she’s wearing a rather conspicuous gold and black outfit.

“That’s me,” Namjoon answers, walking toward the woman and stopping right in front of her. “Am I finally going to know your name?”

“Chang Seungyeon.” Namjoon can appreciate that she isn’t playing games. They don’t have time for that anyway. “I hear you’re looking for Kim Chungha.”

“Her name is Chanmi,” Namjoon snaps back.

“Don’t tell her that. Poor girl barely started, and Cha Youngbin has already conditioned her to reject her own name.”

“What do you mean?!”

“Keep your voice down, please,” Seungyeon gently reminds Namjoon. “Also, please have a seat, I dislike it when people look down on me, especially when I’m off the clock.” Namjoon swallows his rage and sits across from Seungyeon on the bed.

“Have they been beating her?” Seungyeon scoffs.

“That and worse,” Namjoon shivers in fear. He knew Chanmi had to have endured a lot, but hearing Seungyeon confirm it… It makes him feel like he’s already too late.

“I need to get her out, Seungyeon-ssi.”

“Well you won’t find her working the street. As much as she’s been through, she’s got a lot of fight left in her.” Namjoon breathes out a sigh of relief. That’s the Chanmi he remembers: ever the fighter. “I don’t know where she is exactly, but since she can’t be trusted with clients, I’d imagine that Youngbin is keeping her in the storage place for trafficked girls.”

“You can’t get information from one of them?”

“That man does not allow us to be so sociable,” answers with a light, if patronizing chuckle.

“So, then you can’t help me?”

“I didn’t say that,” Seungyeon reaches into her purse and pulls out a picture. On it is the image of another young woman, one with shoulder length dark brown hair. “This is Oh Seunghee. She was kidnapped a couple of months and has been broken in.” Namjoon shudders at the mention of being “broken in”. That’s not how sex work is supposed to be. Sex work is supposed to be 100% consensual. Anything less is despicable. “Youngbin has her working at the club every night. If you have a good chance at getting information from anybody it’s her.”

Namjoon looks at the picture with the most hope he’s ever felt. He can feel the tears forming in his eyes and a sob threatening to rip from his chest. He tries his best to hold himself because he still needs some information from Seungyeon.

“I-I need,”

“Don’t worry,” Seungyeon interrupts, “On the back of picture is her work schedule. I already asked Dami to send you the blueprints to the club. The room she usually works in will be marked.” Seungyeon’s phone then goes off, as if on cue. She answers it and walks over to the room’s only window, sitting on the ledge and looking down at the street.

From the corner of his eye, Namjoon feels one tear slip, but he quickly wipes it away and finally breathes. He tucks the picture away in his wallet carefully and walks over to Seungyeon.

“I’ll handle it, just don’t make any sudden moves,” Seungyeon tells the person on the phone and hangs up.

“Thank you, Chang Seungyeon-ssi,” Namjoon begins to sincerely thank the woman who has brought him so close to bringing his baby sister home after fourteen years. “If there’s anything I can do to repay you,”

“There is actually, Kim Namjoon-ssi,” Seungyeon, once again interrupts Namjoon. She removes her attention away from the street below and stands in front of Namjoon, looking up at him. “Tell your bodyguard to stop giving my mine death glares. They’re just doing their jobs.” Namjoon can feel his cheeks flush with embarrassment.

“S-sorry about that. Hyung is just… careful.” Seungyeon nods in understanding. She then walks over to the loveseat and grabs her bag.

“It’s good you have friends like that,” she mentions in a hushed voice. She keeps walking toward the door, but before exiting the room she looks back at Namjoon and says, “You’ll need them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I had fun writing it! Plus I got to include my CLC girls! Leave comments, they feed me lol!!

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Twitter if you'd like: @MultiRain


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